1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a process and apparatus for treating fluid hydrocarbon fuels with neutron or gamma radiation for retarding agglomeration between the particles thereof, for retarding the growth of bacteria and fungi therein, and for increasing the normal combustion efficiency of the fuel after prolonged periods of storage, and thereby reducing the hydrocarbon pollutants produced during the combustion process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nuclear radiation has been utilized in the prior art for shortening molecular chains of organic molecules, lengthening molecular chains of organic molecules, cross linking molecular chains of organic molecules and for promoting or retarding chemical reactions between molecular chains of organic molecules.
In contrast, the present application relates to the use of nuclear radiation, and in particular to the use of neutrons and/or gamma rays to irradiate fluid hydrocarbons, and especially fluid hydrocarbon fuels, for retarding the agglomeration process which naturally occurs between the particles of the fluid hydrocarbon during storage and subsequent heating. Agglomeration may be generally defined as the process by which a mass of precipitation grows by assimilating other precipitation particles which in the course of normal thermal activity collide with the precipitation mass and therefore become part thereof. The probability of two like hydrocarbon molecules agglomerating or coalescing may be reduced by irradiating the molecules with nuclear radiation. Experimentation has shown that gamma radiation will perform satisfactorily in reducing the probability of agglomeration, but neutron radiation, at least within a suitable range of intensities, appears to be the most efficient method of reducing agglomeration between the hydrocarbon molecules. While this invention is described with relation to liquid hydrocarbon fuels such as kerosene, jet fuel, RP-1 rocket fuel, diesel fuel and gasoline, the general process and apparatus disclosed herein may be used with similar success upon other hydrocarbons.
The prior art includes several examples of the use of nuclear energy for treating and changing the physical characteristics of hydrocarbons. For example, Natland, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,297,537, discloses a method and apparatus for treating crude oil for facilitating the long distance transportation through pipelines. Natland transports the thick and viscous crude petroleum oil through the moderator sections of a nuclear reactor, thereby allowing the crude oil to absorb heat generated by the nuclear reaction. This heat is normally transferred to the crude petroleum oil by thermal neutrons (as compared with fast neutrons). The additional heat added to the crude petroleum oil decreases the viscosity of the oil and thereby reduces the energy required to pipe the crude oil over long distances. Stoops in U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,334, discloses the method of circulating lubricating oil together with an olefin additive through the moderating sections of an atomic nuclear reactor. In addition to the normal heating which occurs, as described in the previous application, the lubricating oil and olefin additives absorb high energy neutrons which act as a catalyst in the chemical grafting or combination of the olefin chain onto the molecular structure of the lubricating oil. This chemical reaction improves the viscosity index of the lubricating oil. Another similar chemical reaction catalyzed by the presence of nuclear particles is disclosed by Ogorzaly, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,057, which describes the conversion of cetane to obtain a polymerized product having a high viscosity index.
Kline, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,633, discloses a method for polymerizing or depolymerizing organic compounds of various molecular weights by exposing the organic substances to large concentrations of high energy gamma rays. This process of gamma irradiation of the polymers can in some instances promote cross linking between the molecular chains and inhibit crazing of the molecular chains, while in other cases the molecules forming the complex polymer are caused to disengage. The use of high energy gamma rays in the conversion of petroleum naphtha to a higher octane product is disclosed by Wigner in U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,610.
Other uses of nuclear radiation for effecting the probability of chemical reactions are disclosed by Hamling, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,451, Bolt et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,113, Bolt et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,534, Voorhees in U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,637; Schutze et al in U.S. Pat. No. 2,914,452; Schlicht et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,814; and Hentz in U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,404. Other prior art references include Natland in U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,781; Denison in U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,111 and Ransohoff in U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,915.